20 Jan
|
3 mins
How many people have you been in contact with at work today?
And how many of those points of contact were actually in-person rather than online?
I’ve worked from home this morning and apart from a quick conversation with my dentist, all my other interactions today have been via email, text, Zoom, Teams or Whatsapp.
We all spend such a lot of work time interacting online with colleagues, customers, clients, suppliers – it’s quick, to the point and helps us get stuff done promptly – but does it affect the way we forge genuine friendships at work? And does that matter?
I’ve been reading a fascinating piece of research by KPMG focusing on happiness at work. The study, completed in 2024 and 2025, found that our workplace friendships are critical for our mental well-being and job satisfaction, especially in today’s digitally driven work environment.
Having genuine friendships with our co-workers makes us feel more positive, more engaged with our work, improves our motivation and makes us feel more connected to our organisations. Friends at work provide us with a sounding board and a source of empathy when times are tough. They help us feel like we belong and that’s the ‘secret sauce’ to creating collaborating, caring cultures that are more fun to work in.
Close individual friendships have the strongest positive impact on our mental health at work.
But there are a number of challenges we face in making these friendships happen.
A key challenge is that we often have more online connection with work colleagues than we do in-person. Emerging technology is simultaneously enabling new forms of connecting (look at how much we now use Teams/Zoom since 2020) whilst also creating superficial interactions that undermine authentic relationship-building and leave people starved of human collaboration.
The study found that relying too heavily on digital communication instead of face-to-face time makes it much harder for real friendships to form.
On top of that, making friends doesn’t always come naturally for some and the research showed that 45% of employees experienced feelings of isolation and loneliness sometimes. Worryingly, this number had drastically increased from 25% of employees in 2024 to 45% in 2025. Unsurprising though, when you consider how often we’re communicating digitally rather than in person!
In practice, building friendships takes effort – not just because some people find it difficult to make friends, but to deliberately overcome and work around the digital barriers we face.
These suggestions for creating real friendships at work came from employees of all ages:
· Celebrating special occasions like birthdays, work anniversaries, personal achievements
· The 10/5 Way – acknowledge someone with a nod or smile if you pass them at 10 feet distance; but say something if you’re 5 feet away.
· Deliberately chatting to someone new during coffee breaks
· Supporting colleagues’ personal goals like running a marathon
· Spending your lunch break with someone new rather than just the usual suspects
· Having regular catch ups to discuss non-work items, not just work stuff
· Making an effort to personalise the communications you have with others
· Joining in work functions, events and activities
· Going for a lunchtime walk with a small group of colleagues
· Weekly rituals – weekly snack, Friday pastries, Monday check-in
· Getting involved in – or even setting up - groups or clubs at work with others who share your interests – eg book club, sports, baking, dog walks
· Walking conversations – people chat and relax more when walking outside than in discussions online or in a meeting room
So where does this leave businesses?
The research shows that companies can attract and keep talent by creating workplaces where friendships can grow—something employees care about more than ever.
As managers, it’s worth thinking about the small but meaningful ways we can create a work environment that supports and nurtures real friendships. How are we helping our teams build strong relationships with other colleagues? If the environment isn’t helping, we need to change it.
Whether it’s setting up smaller regional meet-ups for remote teams, recognising people who make an effort to be inclusive and kind, or simply making time for informal catch-ups during the workday, these small choices matter.
As we move into 2026, the happiness advantage that comes from workplace friendships is becoming a workplace currency. As managers and leaders we really need to ensure we’re not short-changing our people!
